Search results for: Amir Gharavi

Authors: Alireza Abdiardekani, Maryam Salimi, Shirin Sarejloo, Mehdi Bazrafshan, Amir Askarinejad, Amirhossein Salimi, Hanieh Bazrafshan, Salar Javanshir, Armin Attar, Shokoufeh Khanzadeh, Mohsen Esmaeili, Hamed Bazrafshan Drissi

Abstract:

Background: Opium, after tobacco, is the most abused substance in the Middle East. The effects of opium use on coronary artery disease are indeed unclear. This study aimed to assess the association between opium use and angiographic findings in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) diagnosis at Al-Zahra Heart Hospital, Shiraz, Iran. Methods: In this case-control study, 170 patients admitted for coronary angiography were enrolled from 2019 to 2020. They were categorized into two groups based on their history: "non-opium" and "opium." SPSS (Version 26) was used to investigate the correlation between opioid addiction and the severity of coronary artery disease. Results: The results of our study reveal that the mean age of the participants was 61.63±9.07. This study indicated that 49 (28.82%) patients were female, and 121 (71.17%) were male. Our findings revealed that three-vessel disease was more frequent in non-opium (40; 47.05%) and opium (45; 52.94%) groups. There was a significant correlation between the severity of the second diagonal artery(D2) and right coronary artery(RCA) involvement and opium consumption. There was a strong positive correlation between the location of the vascular lesion in the left circumflex artery and opium consumption. Conclusion: Opium, as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, can have specific effects on angiographic findings in patients with coronary artery disease. Public health officials and politicians should arrange several programs to increase the general population’s consciousness about opioid use and its consequences.

Keywords: acute coronary syndrome, opium, coronary artery disease, angiography

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Authors: Arefeh Jafarian, Mohammad Taghikani, Saied Abroun, Amir Allahverdi, Masoud Soleimani

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Introduction: The miRNAs have key roles in control of pancreatic islet development and insulin secretion. In this regards, current study investigated the pancreatic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs) by up-regulation of miR-375 and down-regulation of miR-9 by lentiviruses containing miR-375 and anti-miR-9. Findings: After 21 days of induction, islet-like clusters containing insulin producing cells (IPCs) were confirmed by dithizone (DTZ) staining. The IPCs and β cell specific related genes and proteins were detected using qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence on days 7, 14 and 21 of differentiation. Glucose challenge test was performed at different concentrations of glucose as well as extracellular and intracellular insulin and C-peptide were assayed using ELISA kit. In derived IPCs by miR-375 alone are capable to express insulin and other endocrine specific transcription factors, the cells lack the machinery to respond to glucose. The differentiated hMSCs by miR-375 and anti-miR-9 lentiviruses could secrete insulin and c-peptide in a glucose-regulated manner. Conclusion: It was found that over-expression of miR-375 led to a reduction in levels of Mtpn protein in derived IPCs, while treatment with anti-miR-9 following miR-375 over-expression had synergistic effects on MSCs differentiation and insulin secretion in a glucose-regulated manner. The researchers reported that silencing of miR-9 increased OC-2 protein in IPCs that may contribute to the observed glucose-regulated insulin secretion. These findings highlight miRNAs functions in stem cells differentiation and suggest that they could be used as therapeutic tools for gene-based therapy in diabetes mellitus.

Keywords: diabetes, differentiation, MSCs, insulin producing cells, miR-375, miR-9

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Authors: Zubair Khaliq, M. Bilal Qadir, Amir Shahzad, Zulfiqar Ali, Ahsan Nazir, Ali Afzal, Abdul Jabbar

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Carbon fibers are one of the most demanding materials on earth due to their potential application in energy, high strength materials, and conductive materials. The nanostructure of carbon fibers offers enhanced properties of conductivity due to the larger surface area. The next generation carbon nanofibers demand the porous structure as it offers more surface area. Multiple techniques are used to produce carbon fibers. However, electrospinning followed by carbonization of the polymeric materials is easy to carry process on a laboratory scale. Also, it offers multiple diversity of changing parameters to acquire the desired properties of carbon fibers. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) is the most used material for the production of carbon fibers due to its promising processing parameters. Also, cellulose is one of the highest yield producers of carbon fibers. However, the electrospinning of cellulosic materials is difficult due to its rigid chain structure. The combination of PAN and cellulose can offer a suitable solution for the production of carbon fibers. Both materials are miscible in the mixed solvent of N, N, Dimethylacetamide and lithium chloride. This study focuses on the production of porous carbon fibers as a function of PAN/Cellulose blend ratio, solution properties, and electrospinning parameters. These single polymer and blend with different ratios were electrospun to give fine fibers. The higher amount of cellulose offered more difficulty in electrospinning of nanofibers. After carbonization, the carbon fibers were studied in terms of their blend ratio, surface area, and texture. Cellulose contents offered the porous structure of carbon fibers. Also, the presence of LiCl contributed to the porous structure of carbon fibers.

Keywords: cellulose, polyacrylonitrile, carbon nanofibers, electrospinning, blend

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Authors: Zanib Nafees, Amir Razaghizad, Ibtisam Mahmoud, Abhinav Sharma, Renzo Cecere

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More than one million surgeries are performed each year in Canada, resulting in more than 100,000 associated serious adverse events (SAEs) per year. These are defined as unintended injuries or complications that adversely affect the well-being of patients. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of digital health interventions that have the potential to assist, monitor, and educate patients—facilitating self-care following post-operative discharge. Among digital health, interventions are interactive-voice response technologies (IVRs), which have been shown to be highly effective in certain medical settings. Although numerous IVR-based interventions have been developed, their effectiveness and utility remain unclear, notably in post-operative settings. To the best of our knowledge, no systematic or scoping reviews have evaluated this topic to date. Thus, the objective of this scoping review protocol is to systematically map and explore the literature and evidence describing and examining IVR tools, implementation, evaluation, outcome, and experience for post-operative patients. The focus will be primarily on the evaluation of baseline performance status, clinical assessment, treatment outcomes, and patient management, including self-management and self-monitoring. The objective of this scoping review is to assess the extent of the literature to direct future research efforts by identifying gaps and limitations in the literature and to highlight relevant determinants of positive outcomes in the emerging field of IVR monitoring for health outcomes in post-operative patients.

Keywords: digital healthcare technologies, post-surgery, interactive voice technology, interactive voice response

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Authors: Muhammad Bilal Qadir, Danish Umer, Amir Shahzad

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The use of conductive materials in smart and interactive textiles is gaining significant importance for creating value addition, innovation, and functional product development. These products find their potential applications in health monitoring, military, protection, communication, sensing, monitoring, actuation, fashion, and lifestyles. The materials which are most commonly employed in such type of interactive textile include intrinsically conducting polymers, conductive inks, and metallic coating on textile fabrics and inherently conducting metallic fibre yarns. In this study, silver coated polyester filament yarn is explored for the development of multifunctional interactive gloves. The composite yarn was developed by covering the silver coated polyester filament around the polyester spun yarn using hollow spindle technique. The electrical and tensile properties of the yarn were studied. This novel yarn was used to manufacture a smart glove to explore the antibacterial, functional, and interactive properties of the yarn. The change in electrical resistance due to finger movement at different bending positions and antimicrobial properties were studied. This glove was also found useful as an interactive tool to operate the commonly used touch screen devices due to its conductive nature. The yarn can also be used to develop the sensing elements like stretch, strain, and piezoresistive sensors. Such sensor can be effectively used in medical and sports textile for performance monitoring, vital signs monitoring and development of antibacterial textile for healthcare and hygiene.

Keywords: conductive yarn, interactive textiles, piezoresistive sensors, smart gloves

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Authors: Amir Saber Gharamaleki, Beitollah Alipour, Zeinab Faghfoori, Ahmad YariKhosroushahi

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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent cancers and intestinal microbial community plays an important role in colorectal tumorigenesis. Probiotics have recently been assessed as effective anti-proliferative agents and thus this study was performed to examine whether CRC undergo apoptosis by treating with isolated Iranian native dairy yeast, Kluyveromyces marxianus YAS, secretion metabolites. The cytotoxicity assessments on cells (HT-29, Caco-2) were accomplished through 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay as well as qualitative DAPI (4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining) and quantitative (flow cytometry assessments) evaluations of apoptosis. To evaluate the main mechanism of apoptosis, Real time PCR method was applied. Kluyveromyces marxianus YAS secretions (IC50) showed significant cytotoxicity against HT-29 and Caco-2 cancer cell lines (66.57 % and 66.34 % apoptosis) similar to 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) while apoptosis only was developed in 27.57 % of KDR normal cells. The prophylactic effects of Kluyveromyces marxianus (PTCC 5195), as a reference yeast, was not similar to Kluyveromyces marxianus YAS indicating strain dependency of bioactivities on CRC disease prevention. Based on real time PCR results, the main cytotoxicity is related to apoptosis phenomenon and the core related mechanism is depended on the overexpression of BAX, CASP 9, CASP 8 and CASP 3 inducing apoptosis genes. However, several investigations should be conducted to precisely determine the effective compounds to be used as anticancer therapeutics in the future.

Keywords: anticancer, anti-proliferative, apoptosis, cytotoxicity, yeast

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Authors: Behnaz Sohani, Sahand Shahalinezhad, Amir Rahmani, Aliyu Aliyu

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Recently, medical imaging and specifically medical image processing is becoming one of the most dynamically developing areas of medical science. It has led to the emergence of new approaches in terms of the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of various diseases. In the process of diagnosis of lung cancer, medical professionals rely on computed tomography (CT) scans, in which failure to correctly identify masses can lead to incorrect diagnosis or sampling of lung tissue. Identification and demarcation of masses in terms of detecting cancer within lung tissue are critical challenges in diagnosis. In this work, a segmentation system in image processing techniques has been applied for detection purposes. Particularly, the use and validation of a novel lung cancer detection algorithm have been presented through simulation. This has been performed employing CT images based on multilevel thresholding. The proposed technique consists of segmentation, feature extraction, and feature selection and classification. More in detail, the features with useful information are selected after featuring extraction. Eventually, the output image of lung cancer is obtained with 96.3% accuracy and 87.25%. The purpose of feature extraction applying the proposed approach is to transform the raw data into a more usable form for subsequent statistical processing. Future steps will involve employing the current feature extraction method to achieve more accurate resulting images, including further details available to machine vision systems to recognise objects in lung CT scan images.

Keywords: lung cancer detection, image segmentation, lung computed tomography (CT) images, medical image processing

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Authors: Serin Darwish, Hakim Saibi, Amir Gabr

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is situated within an arid zone where the climate is arid and the recharge of the groundwater is very low. Groundwater is the primary source of water in the United Arab Emirates. However, rapid expansion, population growth, agriculture, and industrial activities have negatively affected these limited water resources. The shortage of water resources has become a serious concern due to the over-pumping of groundwater to meet demand. In addition to the deficit of groundwater, the UAE has one of the highest per capita water consumption rates in the world. In this study, a combination of time-lapse measurements of microgravity and depth to groundwater level in selected wells in Al Ain city was used to estimate the variations in groundwater storage. Al-Ain is the second largest city in Abu Dhabi Emirates and the third largest city in the UAE. The groundwater in this region has been overexploited. Relative gravity measurements were acquired using the Scintrex CG-6 Autograv. This latest generation gravimeter from Scintrex Ltd provides fast, precise gravity measurements and automated corrections for temperature, tide, instrument tilt and rejection of data noise. The CG-6 gravimeter has a resolution of 0.1μGal. The purpose of this study is to measure the groundwater storage changes in the shallow aquifers based on the application of microgravity method. The gravity method is a nondestructive technique that allows collection of data at almost any location over the aquifer. Preliminary results indicate a possible relationship between microgravity and water levels, but more work needs to be done to confirm this. The results will help to develop the relationship between monthly microgravity changes with hydrological and hydrogeological changes of shallow phreatic. The study will be useful in water management considerations and additional future investigations.

Keywords: Al-Ain, arid region, groundwater, microgravity

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Authors: Bardia Khafaf, Mehrdad Ghaffari, Amir Hussein Samakar

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It is currently desirable to use Hollow Square Sections (HSS) in moment resistant structures in construction of building because they offer fewer restrictions for designing and more useful space while adhering to build design codes. This paper present a through bolt connection in HSS column. This connection meets building code standards that require the moment resistant connections to deflect and absorb energy resulting from gravity and seismic loads. Connection through bolts is installed and pretension to provide the connection strength needed to make a beam–column moment rigid zone. A rigid joint is typically used to resist lateral forces by holding columns and beams fixed in relation to one another. With bolted moment frames using HSS columns, a through–bolt connection could be used to secure the beam and end plate to the column. However, when multiple columns and beams are used to span a length of building, the use of through-bolts would necessities aligning multiple beams simultaneously to the columns. In the case of a linear span, the assembly process requires the holes of a first beam end plate to be aligned with through bolt holes in a column and aligning the holes of a second, opposing beam plate with the column through bolt, then inserting the through bolts in each hole for tightening with nuts and washers. In moment resistant building, a problem arises when assembling beams to columns where multiple beams and columns are required. Through bolt, moment connections are among the economical, practical and not difficult rigid steel connection for HSS column building. In this paper, the results of numerous analytical studies performed for moment structures with HSS columns with through bolt based on AISC standard codes are shown.

Keywords: through bolt, moment resistant connection, HSS columns section, construction engineering

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Authors: Silindile Gumede, Amir Hossein Mohammadi, Mbuyu Germain Ntunka

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Goal 12 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) encourages sustainable consumption and production patterns. This necessitates achieving the environmentally safe management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle and the proper disposal of pollutants and toxic waste. Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts are widely used in the refinery to convert heavy feedstocks to lighter ones. During the refining processes, the catalysts are deactivated and discarded as hazardous toxic solid waste. Spent catalysts (SC) contain high-cost metal, and the recovery of metals from SCs is a tactical plan for supplying part of the demand for these substances and minimizing the environmental impacts. Leaching followed by solvent extraction, has been found to be the most efficient method to recover valuable metals with high purity from spent catalysts. However, the use of inorganic acids during the leaching process causes a secondary environmental issue. Therefore, it is necessary to explore other alternative efficient leaching agents that are economical and environmentally friendly. In this study, the waste catalyst was collected from a domestic refinery and was characterised using XRD, ICP, XRF, and SEM. Response surface methodology (RSM) and Box Behnken design were used to model and optimize the influence of some parameters affecting the acidic leaching process. The parameters selected in this investigation were the acid concentration, temperature, and leaching time. From the characterisation results, it was found that the spent catalyst consists of high concentrations of Vanadium (V) and Nickel (Ni); hence this study focuses on the leaching of Ni and V using a biodegradable acid to eliminate the formation of the secondary pollution.

Keywords: eco-friendly leaching, optimization, metal recovery, leaching

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Authors: Bahador Bardshiri, Omid Moradi, Amir Komeilian, Nima Panahifar

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Formation of a conjunctival membrane over the corneal surface is a condition unique to rabbits that has been labeled aberrant corneal occlusion or pseudopterygium. In the summer of 2013, a five years old male Standard Chinchilla rabbit were presented to Karaj Central Veterinary hospital and the owner complained that his rabbit shows degrees of blindness and there were opacities on both eyes of the presented rabbit. Ophthalmic examination of the affected eyes revealed a conjunctival fold stretching over the cornea of both eyes. The fold originated from limbus and it was vascularized and centrally thickened. There were no attachments to the corneal epithelium and the fold could be easily lifted. Surgery was performed under general anesthesia. The conjunctival fold was incised centrifugally up to its attachment at the limbus and the lid margin using small scissors. The central rim of the segment was then replaced to its normal position in the fornix and fixed with mattress sutures (7/0) passing through outside skin. After the surgery, eye drops containing dexamethasone, gentamicin and polymixin were applied twice daily up to 3 weeks. Within the observation period (8 months) no recurrence was noted. "Pseudo" in the term pseudopterygium refers to the fact that the conjunctival membrane is not adhering to the underlying cornea, but growing over it. In rare cases, the membrane may be loosely attached to the cornea, but can be easily separated without causing damage. It can cover only a small part of the cornea with an annular peripheral opacification of the cornea, or cover it almost fully, leading to blindness. Ethiopathogenesis remains unclear and recurrence of the problem is very likely. The surgical technique that used here decreases probability of recurrence of conjunctival fold.

Keywords: rabbit, cornea, aberrant corneal occlusion, pseudopterygium

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Authors: Abdullah Arafat, Ali Al-Farhan, Amir Omair

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Objectives: To review and assess the effectiveness of the implemented modified five-levels triage and acuity scale triage system in AL-Yarmook Urgent Care Center (UCC), King Abdulaziz Residential city, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Method: The applied study design was an observational cross sectional design. A data collection sheet was designed and distributed to triage nurses; the data collection was done during triage process and was directly observed by the co-investigator. Triage system was reviewed by measuring three time intervals as quality indicators: time before triage (TBT), time before being seen by physician (TBP) and total length of stay (TLS) taking in consideration timing of presentation and level of triage. Results: During the study period, a total of 187 patients were included in our study. 118 visits were at weekdays and 68 visits at weekends. Overall, 173 patients (92.5%) were seen by the physician in timely manner according to triage guidelines while 14 patients (7.5%) were not seen at appropriate time.Overall, The mean time before seen the triage nurse (TBT) was 5.36 minutes, the mean time to be seen by physician (TBP) was 22.6 minutes and the mean length of stay (TLS) was 59 minutes. The data didn’t showed significant increase in TBT, TBP, and number of patients not seen at the proper time, referral rate and admission rate during weekend. Conclusion: The CTAS is adaptable to countries beyond Canada and worked properly. The applied CTAS triage system in Al-Yarmook UCC is considered to be effective and well applied. Overall, urgent cases have been seen by physician in timely manner according to triage system and there was no delay in the management of urgent cases.

Keywords: CTAS, emergency, Saudi Arabia, triage, urgent care

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Authors: Nadiya Zahra Karimi, Amir Ghiami Rad

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The physical health of students from an early age and the proper formation of the musculoskeletal system of their body is part of the overall health of these people. Most chronic musculoskeletal problems and pains can be controlled and reduced with education at an early age. Therefore, with the correct and timely diagnosis of these abnormalities, we can play an important role in their proper treatment and control, and in a way, raise the level of quality of life and positive self-concept in students. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between erectile dysfunctions of the upper limbs (head and neck, shoulder, thoracic and lumbar) and the quality of life and self-concept of male students aged 7 to 10 years. The statical population of the study consists of 227 students of shahadat boys’ primary school in khajeh city. Due to the corona pandemic conditions, the research samples were identified after screening and available according to the entrance criteria of the study. To validate the quality of life, the valid WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire will be used for self-concept variables, Dolatabadi, Fatemeh (2007) questionnaire, and for physical screening, a checkerboard, plumb line, and flexible ruler will be used. There is a negative and significant relationship between the dimensions of upper limb anomalies and quality of life factors, and also there is a negative and significant relationship between the dimensions of upper limb anomalies and self-concept factors. The results showed that there is a negative and significant relationship between head and neck abnormalities with quality of life and self-concept factors, with a significance level of less than 0.05 in male students aged 7 to 10 years.

Keywords: upper limb erectile dysfunction, quality of life, self-concept, erectile abnormalities

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Authors: Amir Hossein Allahdadi

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The mystical and intuitive look of Islamic artists inspired by the Koranic and mystical principles and also based on the geometry and mathematics has left unique works whose range extends across the borders of Islam. The relationship between Islamic art and music in the traditional art is of one of the concepts that can be traced back to the other arts by detection of its components. One of the links is the art of painting whose subtleties that can be applicable to both architecture and music. So, architecture and music links can be traced in other arts with a traditional foundation in order to evaluate the equivalents of traditional arts. What is the relationship between physical space of architecture and nonphysical space of music? What is musical architecture? What is the music that tends to architecture? These questions are very small samples of the questions that arise in this category, and these questions and concerns remain as long as the music is played and the architecture is made. Efforts have been made in this area, references compiled and plans drawn. As an example, we can refer to views of ‘Mansour Falamaki’ in the book of architecture and music, as well as the book transition from mud to heart by ‘Hesamodin Seraj’. The method is such that a certain melody is given to an architect and it is tried to design a specified architecture using a certain theme. This study is not to follow the architecture of a particular type of music and the formation of a volume based on a sound. In this opportunity, it is tried to briefly review the relationship between music and architecture in the Iranian original and traditional arts, using the basic definitions of arts. The musician plays, the architect designs, the actor forms his desired space and painter displays his multi-dimensional world in the form of two-dimensions. The expression language is different, but all of them can be gathered in a form, a form which has no clear boundaries. In fact, in any original art, the artist applies his art as a tool to express his insights which are nothing but achieving the world beyond this place and time.

Keywords: architecture, music, geometric proportions, mathematical proportions

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Authors: Mohammad Saif

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In the post-Westphalianworld order, the concept of sovereignty has been a fundamental area of inquiry in Political Science, International Relations, and International Law. Modern Islamic political thought has also dedicated a fair share of debate on the subject. The debate fundamentally revolves around the ‘ontological differentiation’ between western and Islamic political thought. While the centrality of the individual in western political thought regards the individual as the center of universe, Islamic Political thought provides that space to God. The modern liberal democratic principles suggest sovereignty as one of the major attributes of modern nation state; Islamists regard sovereignty as an attribute of God. However, the position regarding God’ssovereignty in Islamic political thought is not coherent in conception. Some scholars regard such a position as ‘the political interpretation of Islam’. This paper is an attempt to first analyze the fundamental discord between two rival political ideologies (western and Islamic), and then forward a debate on the subject of sovereignty in South Asian Islamic Political thought, particularly between Syed Abul Ala Maududi (ideological father of modern islamist movements) andHifzurrahmanSeoharvi (lesser known in Academia but highly influential in shaping Deobandi position of principles related to political nature of Islamic theology). Maududi regardssovereignty as an attribute of God and the rulers as subservient to Gods will, Seoharvi suggests that God's sovereignty does not entail that the caliph or amir cannot be a ruler or hakim, nor can his command or hukum be an order. Certain references have also been made to contemporary scholars like Sayidd Qutub, Rashid al Ghanouchi, who in one way or the other have contributed to the debate on ‘sovereignty in Islamic thought’.

Keywords: nation state, sovereigty, sovereignty of God (Hakimmiyah), deoband

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Authors: Saeed Yazdani, Sima Mohamadi Amidabadi, Amir Mohamadi Nejad, Farahnaz Nekoofar

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As a result of uncertainty and doubts about the quantity of agricultural products, greater significance has been attached to risk management in the agricultural sector. Normally, farmers seek to minimize risks, and crop diversity has always been a means to reduce risk. The study at hand seeks to explore the long-term impact of crop diversity on income risk reduction. The timeframe of the study is 1998 to 2018. Initially, the Herfindahl index was used to estimate crop diversity in different periods, and next, the Hodrick-Prescott filter was applied to estimate income risk both in nominal and real terms. Finally, using the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), the long-term impact of crop diversity on two modes of risk for the farmer's income has been estimated. Given the long-term pattern’s results, it is evident that in the long-run, crop diversity can reduce income fluctuations in two nominal and real terms. Moreover, results showed that in case the fluctuation shock affects the agricultural income in the short run, to balance out the shock in nominal and real terms, 4 and 3 cycles are needed respectively. In other words, in each cycle, 25% and 33% of the shock impact can be removed, respectively. Thus, as the results of the error correction coefficient showed, policies need to be put in place to prevent income shocks. In case of a shock, they need to be balanced out in a four-year period, taking inflation into account, and in a three-year period irrespective of the inflation and reparative policies such as insurance services should be developed.

Keywords: risk, long-term model, Herfindahl index, time series model, vector error correction model

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Authors: Sara Ataei, Maryam Taghizadeh-Ghehi, Amir Sarayani, Asieh Ashouri, Amirhossein Moslehi, Molouk Hadjibabaie, Kheirollah Gholami

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Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients with an incidence of 21–73%. Prevention and early diagnosis reduces the frequency and severity of this complication. Predictive biomarkers are of major importance to timely diagnosis. Neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a widely investigated novel biomarker for early diagnosis of AKI. However, no study assessed NGAL for AKI diagnosis in HSCT patients. Methods: We performed further analyses on gathered data from our recent trial to evaluate the performance of urine NGAL (uNGAL) as an indicator of AKI in 72 allogeneic HSCT patients. AKI diagnosis and severity were assessed using Risk–Injury–Failure–Loss–End-stage renal disease and AKI Network criteria. We assessed uNGAL on days -6, -3, +3, +9 and +15. Results: Time-dependent Cox regression analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between uNGAL and AKI occurrence. (HR=1.04 (1.008-1.07), P=0.01). There was a relation between uNGAL day +9 to baseline ratio and incidence of AKI (unadjusted HR=.1.047(1.012-1.083), P<0.01). The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for day +9 to baseline ratio was 0.86 (0.74-0.99, P<0.01) and a cut-off value of 2.62 was 85% sensitive and 83% specific in predicting AKI. Conclusions: Our results indicated that increase in uNGAL augmented the risk of AKI and the changes of day +9 uNGAL concentrations from baseline could be of value for predicting AKI in HSCT patients. Additionally uNGAL changes preceded serum creatinine rises by nearly 2 days.

Keywords: acute kidney injury, hemtopoietic stem cell transplantation, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, Receiver-operating characteristic curve

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Authors: Fatemeh Rasooli, Behzad Simiari, Pooya Payandemehr, Amir Nejati, Maryam Bahreini, Atefeh Abdollahi

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Introduction: Pain is a complex physiological reaction to tissue injury. In the course of painful procedures such as nerve block, ice has been shown to be a feasible and inexpensive material to control pain. It delays nerve conduction, actives other senses and reduces inflammatory and painful responses. This study assessed the effect of ice in reducing pain caused by needling and infiltration during digital block. Patient satisfaction recorded as a secondary outcome. Methods: This study was designed as a non-blinded randomized clinical trial approved by Tehran University of Medical Sciences Ethical Committee. Informed consent was taken from all the participants who were then randomly divided into two groups. Digital block performed by standard approach in selected patients. Tubes of ice were prepared in gloves and were fragmented at a time of application for circling around the finger. Tubes were applied for 6 minutes before digital nerve block in the site of needling in the case group. Patients in the control group underwent digital nerve block with the conventional method without ice administration. Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) used for grading pain. 0 used for no pain and 10 for the worst pain that patient had experienced until now. Scores were analyzed by Wilcoxon Rank Sum test and compared in case and control groups. Results: 100 patients aged 16-50 years were enrolled. Mean NRS scores with and without ice were 1.5 mm (S.D ± 1.44) and 6.8 mm (S.D ± 1.40) for needling pain and for infiltration pain were 2.7mm ( S.D ±1.65) and 8.5mm ( S.D ± 1.47), respectively (p<0.001). Besides, patients’ satisfactions were significantly higher in the ice group (p<0.001). Conclusion: Application of ice for 6 minutes significantly reduced pain of needling and infiltration in digital nerve block; thus, it seems to be a feasible and inexpensive material which acts effectively to decrease pain and stress before the procedure.

Keywords: digital block, ice, needle, pain

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Authors: Farideh Gheitasi, Amir Hossain Jaberansari, Payam Abedini

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The World Health Organization (WHO) Manifesto for Safe Communities states that "All human beings have an equal right to health and safety". The purpose of a safe Community is to minimize the damages threatening people. It seems that not sufficient attention has been given to relate environment and objectives of the safe Community. The reason for that can be assigned to the lack of enough information about environmental parameters and their relation with indices of the safe community like type and effect time of damages resulting from air pollution. Air pollution can be characterized as one of main environmental problems of Tehran. This problem is mostly due to the special geographic and climate situation, high population density and irregular growth in the number of vehicles. This paper is aimed at investigating the necessity of considering environmental factors to obtain a safe community through determining the effects of environmental pollution, particularly air pollution, on 490000 elders (+65) of Tehran. The methodology used in this study was on the basis of Random sampling and social surveying. The number of questionnaires was determined to be 321 through using Cochran method and the questionnaires were filled out by elders during personal interviews. The analysis of obtained results indicated that elders believe the major effects of air pollution include heart and respiratory diseases, obligation to stay at home on polluted days and its associated mental problems. Moreover, it was found that there is direct link between the number of polluted days and mortality frequency of elders. Having an environmental view may have an appreciable influence on the qualitative and quantitative development of activities and also facilitate obtaining the goals of the Safe Communities. In addition to reduce damages caused by pollutions, this view will encourage friends of the environment to cooperate with authorities of the safe community.

Keywords: air pollution, elderly people, environment, waste management

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Authors: Amir Abbas Fatemi, Zahra Tabrizian, Kabir Sadeghi

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To find the location and severity of damage that occurs in a structure, characteristics changes in dynamic and static can be used. The non-destructive techniques are more common, economic, and reliable to detect the global or local damages in structures. This paper presents a non-destructive method in structural damage detection and assessment using GA and static data. Thus, a set of static forces is applied to some of degrees of freedom and the static responses (displacements) are measured at another set of DOFs. An analytical model of the truss structure is developed based on the available specification and the properties derived from static data. The damages in structure produce changes to its stiffness so this method used to determine damage based on change in the structural stiffness parameter. Changes in the static response which structural damage caused choose to produce some simultaneous equations. Genetic Algorithms are powerful tools for solving large optimization problems. Optimization is considered to minimize objective function involve difference between the static load vector of damaged and healthy structure. Several scenarios defined for damage detection (single scenario and multiple scenarios). The static damage identification methods have many advantages, but some difficulties still exist. So it is important to achieve the best damage identification and if the best result is obtained it means that the method is Reliable. This strategy is applied to a plane truss. This method is used for a plane truss. Numerical results demonstrate the ability of this method in detecting damage in given structures. Also figures show damage detections in multiple damage scenarios have really efficient answer. Even existence of noise in the measurements doesn’t reduce the accuracy of damage detections method in these structures.

Keywords: damage detection, finite element method, static data, non-destructive, genetic algorithm

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Authors: Majid Farsadrouh Rashti, Parisa Jahani, Amir Shafiee, Mehrdad Mofidi

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The dihydroxybenzene isomers, hydroquinone (HQ), catechol (CC) and resorcinol (RS) have been widely recognized as important environmental pollutants due to their toxicity and low degradability in the ecological environment. Speciation of HQ, CC and RS is very important for environmental analysis because they co-exist of these isomers in environmental samples and are too difficult to degrade as an environmental contaminant with high toxicity. There are many analytical methods have been reported for detecting these isomers, such as spectrophotometry, fluorescence, High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electrochemical methods. These methods have attractive advantages such as simple and fast response, low maintenance costs, wide linear analysis range, high efficiency, excellent selectivity and high sensitivity. A novel modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with Pd@ Cu/CNTs core−shell nanowires for the simultaneous determination of hydroquinone (HQ), catechol (CC) and resorcinol (RS) is described. A detailed investigation by field emission scanning electron microscopy and electrochemistry was performed in order to elucidate the preparation process and properties of the GCE/ Pd/CuNWs-CNTs. The electrochemical response characteristic of the modified GPE/LFOR toward HQ, CC and RS were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and Chronoamperometry. Under optimum conditions, the calibrations curves were linear up to 228 µM for each with detection limits of 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 µM for HQ, CC and RS, respectively. The diffusion coefficient for the oxidation of HQ, CC and RS at the modified electrode was calculated as 6.5×10⁻⁵, 1.6 ×10⁻⁵ and 8.5 ×10⁻⁵ cm² s⁻¹, respectively. DPV was used for the simultaneous determination of HQ, CC and RS at the modified electrode and the relative standard deviations were 2.1%, 1.9% and 1.7% for HQ, CC and RS, respectively. Moreover, GCE/Pd/CuNWs-CNTs was successfully used for determination of HQ, CC and RS in real samples.

Keywords: dihydroxybenzene isomers, galvanized copper nanowires, electrochemical sensor, Palladium, speciation

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Authors: Amir Reza Heydari, Yaser Jenab

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Coronary artery disease, a common cardiovascular disease, is attributed to the accumulation of cholesterol-based plaques in the coronary arteries, leading to atherosclerosis. This disease is associated with risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, diabetes, and elevated cholesterol levels, contributing to severe clinical consequences, including acute coronary syndromes and myocardial infarction. Treatment approaches such as from lifestyle interventions to surgical procedures like percutaneous coronary intervention and coronary artery bypass surgery. These interventions often employ stents, including bare-metal stents (BMS), drug-eluting stents (DES), and bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS), each with its advantages and limitations. Computational tools have emerged as critical in optimizing stent designs and assessing their performance. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the computational methods of studies based on the finite element (FE) method in the field of coronary stenting and discuss the potential for development and clinical application of stent devices. Additionally, the importance of assessing the ability of computational models is emphasized to represent real-world phenomena, supported by recent guidelines from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Validation processes proposed include comparing model performance with in vivo, ex-vivo, or in vitro data, alongside uncertainty quantification and sensitivity analysis. These methods can enhance the credibility and reliability of in silico simulations, ultimately aiding in the assessment of coronary stent designs in various clinical contexts.

Keywords: atherosclerosis, materials, restenosis, review, validation

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Authors: Amir Zeb, Shailima Rampogu, Minky Son, Ayoung Baek, Sang H. Yoon, Keun W. Lee

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Neurotoxic insults activate calpain, which in turn produces truncated p25 from p35. p25 forms hyperactivated Cdk5/p25 complex, and thereby induces severe neuropathological aberrations including hyperphosphorylated tau, neuroinflammation, apoptosis, and neuronal death. Inhibition of Cdk5/p25 complex alleviates aberrant phosphorylation of tau to mitigate AD pathology. PHA-793887 and Roscovitine have been investigated as selective inhibitors of Cdk5/p25 with IC50 values 5nM and 160nM, respectively, but their mechanistic studies remain unknown. Herein, computational simulations have explored the binding mode and interaction mechanism of PHA-793887 and Roscovitine with Cdk5/p25. Docking results suggested that PHA-793887 and Rsocovitine have occupied the ATP-binding site of Cdk5 and obtained highest docking (GOLD) score of 66.54 and 84.03, respectively. Furthermore, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation demonstrated that PHA-793887 and Roscovitine established stable RMSD of 1.09 Å and 1.48 Å with Cdk5/p25, respectively. Profiling of polar interactions suggested that each inhibitor formed hydrogen bonds (H-bond) with catalytic residues of Cdk5 and could remain stable throughout the molecular dynamics simulation. Additionally, binding free energy calculation by molecular mechanics/Poisson–Boltzmann surface area (MM/PBSA) suggested that PHA-793887 and Roscovitine had lowest binding free energies of -150.05 kJ/mol and -113.14 kJ/mol, respectively with Cdk5/p25. Free energy decomposition demonstrated that polar energy by H-bond between the Glu81 of Cdk5 and PHA-793887 is the essential factor to make PHA-793887 highly selective towards Cdk5/p25. Overall, this study provided substantial evidences to explore mechanistic interactions of the selective inhibitors of Cdk5/p25 and could be used as fundamental considerations in the development of structure-based selective inhibitors of Cdk5/p25.

Keywords: Cdk5/p25 inhibition, molecular modeling of Cdk5/p25, PHA-793887 and roscovitine, selective inhibition of Cdk5/p25

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Authors: Ami Fadhillah Amir Abdul Nasir, Amanda C. Niehaus, Skye F. Cameron, Frank A. Von Hippel, John Postlethwait​, Robbie S. Wilson

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For suicidal breeders, the physiological stresses and energetic costs of breeding are fatal. Environmental stressors such as pollution should compound these costs, yet suicidal breeding is so rare among mammals that this is unknown. Here, we explored the consequences of metal contamination to the health, aging and performance of endangered, suicidally-breeding northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus) living near an active manganese mine on Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, Australia. We found respirable manganese dust at levels exceeding international recommendations even 20km from mining sites and substantial accumulation of manganese within quolls’ hair, testes, and in two brain regions—the neocortex and cerebellum, responsible for sensory perception and motor function, respectively. Though quolls did not differ in sprint speeds, motor skill, or manoeuvrability, those with higher accumulation of manganese crashed at lower speeds during manoeuvrability tests, indicating a potential effect on sight or cognition. Immune function and telomere length declined over the breeding season, as expected with ageing, but manganese contamination exacerbated immune declines and suppressed cortisol. Unexpectedly, male quolls with higher levels of manganese had longer telomeres, supporting evidence of unusual telomere dynamics among Dasyurids—though whether this affects their lifespan is unknown. We posit that sublethal contamination via pollution, mining, or urbanisation imposes physiological costs on wildlife that may diminish reproductive success or survival.

Keywords: ecotoxicology, heavy metal, manganese, telomere length, cortisol, locomotor

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Authors: Fatema Akram, Mohammad Golam Rasul, Mohammad Masud Kamal Khan, Md. Sharif Imam Ibne Amir

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A variety of routing techniques are available to develop surface runoff hydrographs from rainfall. The selection of runoff routing method is very vital as it is directly related to the type of watershed and the required degree of accuracy. There are different modelling softwares available to explore the rainfall-runoff process in urban areas. XPSTORM, a link-node based, integrated storm-water modelling software, has been used in this study for developing surface runoff hydrograph for a Golf course area located in Rockhampton in Central Queensland in Australia. Four commonly used methods, namely SWMM runoff, Kinematic wave, Laurenson, and Time-Area are employed to generate runoff hydrograph for design storm of this study area. In runoff mode of XPSTORM, the rainfall, infiltration, evaporation and depression storage for sub-catchments were simulated and the runoff from the sub-catchment to collection node was calculated. The simulation results are presented, discussed and compared. The total surface runoff generated by SWMM runoff, Kinematic wave and Time-Area methods are found to be reasonably close, which indicates any of these methods can be used for developing runoff hydrograph of the study area. Laurenson method produces a comparatively less amount of surface runoff, however, it creates highest peak of surface runoff among all which may be suitable for hilly region. Although the Laurenson hydrograph technique is widely acceptable surface runoff routing technique in Queensland (Australia), extensive investigation is recommended with detailed topographic and hydrologic data in order to assess its suitability for use in the case study area.

Keywords: ARI, design storm, IFD, rainfall temporal pattern, routing techniques, surface runoff, XPSTORM

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Authors: Amir Ali, Laura Yael Mendoza

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The application of nanomaterials is becoming the most effective strategy of elicitation to produce a desirable level of plant biomass with complex medicinal compounds. This study was designed to check the influence of phytosynthesized iron nanoparticles (FeNPs) on physical growth characteristics, antioxidant status, and production of steviol glycosides of in vitro grown Stevia rebaudiana. Effect of different concentrations of iron nanoparticles replacement of iron sulfate in MS medium (stock solution) on invitro stevia plant growth following positive control (MS basal medium), negative control (iron sulfate devoid medium), iron sulfate devoid MS medium and supplemented with FeNPs at different concentrations (5.6 mg/L, 11.2 mg/L, 16.8 mg/L, 22.4 mg/L) was evaluated. The iron deficiency leads to a drastic reduction in plant growth. In contrast, applying FeNPs leads to improvement in plant height, leave diameter, improved leave morphology, etc., in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, the stress caused by FeNPs at 16.8 mg/L in cultures produced higher levels of total phenolic content (3.7 ± 0.042 mg/g dry weight: DW) and total flavonoid content (1.9 ± 0.022 mg/g DW and antioxidant activity (78 ± 4.6%). In addition, plants grown in the presence of FeNPs at 22.4 mg/L resulted in higher enzymatic antioxidant activities (SOD = 3.5 ± 0.042 U/mg; POD = 2.6 ± 0.026 U/mg; CAT = 2.8 ± 0.034 U/mg and APx = 3.6 ± 0.043 U/ mg), respectively. Furthermore, exposure to a higher dose of FeNPs (22.4 mg/L) exhibited the maximum amount of stevioside (stevioside: 4.6 ± 0.058 mg/g (DW) and rebaudioside A: 4.9 ± 0.068 mg/g DW) as compared to other doses. The current investigation confirms the effectiveness of FeNPs in growth media. It offers a suitable prospect for commercially desirable production of S. rebaudiana biomass with higher sweet glycosides profiles in vitro.

Keywords: cell culture, stevia, iron nanoparticles, antioxidants

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Authors: Waqas Shafqat Chattha, Muhammad Iqbal, Amir Shakeel

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Transcriptional factors are proteins that play a vital role in regulating the transcription of target genes in different biological processes and are being widely studied in different plant species. In the current era of genomics, plant genomes sequencing has directed to the genome-wide identification, analyses and categorization of diverse transcription factor families and hence provide key insights into their structural as well as functional diversity. The DNA-binding with One Finger (DOF) proteins belongs to C2-C2-type zinc finger protein family. DOF proteins are plant-specific transcription factors implicated in diverse functions including seed maturation and germination, phytohormone signalling, light-mediated gene regulation, cotton-fiber elongation and responses of the plant to biotic as well as abiotic stresses. In this context, a genome-wide in-silico analysis of DOF TF family in diploid cotton species i.e. Gossypium raimondii has enabled us to identify 55 non-redundant genes encoding DOF proteins renamed as GrDofs (Gossypium raimondii Dof). Gene distribution studies have shown that all of the GrDof genes are unevenly distributed across 12 out of 13 G. raimondii chromosomes. The gene structure analysis illustrated that 34 out of 55 GrDof genes are intron-less while remaining 21 genes have a single intron. Protein sequence-based phylogenetic analysis of putative 55 GrDOFs has divided these proteins into 5 major groups with various paralogous gene pairs. Molecular evolutionary studies aided with the conserved domain as well as gene structure analysis suggested that segmental duplications were the principal contributors for the expansion of Dof genes in G. raimondii.

Keywords: diploid cotton , G. raimondii, phylogenetic analysis, transcription factor

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Authors: Amira A. A. Abdallah, Amir A. Beltagi

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Background: Core stability training has recently attracted attention for improving muscle balance and optimizing performance in healthy and unhealthy individuals. Purpose: This study investigated the effect of beginner’s core stability exercises on trunk flexors’/extensors’ peak torque ratio and trunk flexors’ and extensors’ peak torques. Methods: Thirty five healthy individuals participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to two groups; experimental “group I, n=20” and control “group II, n=15”. Their mean age, weight and height were 20.7±2.4 vs. 20.3±0.61 years, 66.5±12.1 vs. 68.57±12.2 kg and 166.7±7.8 vs. 164.28 ±7.59 cm. for group I vs. group II. Data were collected using the Biodex Isokinetic system. The participants were tested twice; before and after a 6-week period during which group I performed a core stability training program. Results: The 2x2 Mixed Design ANOVA revealed that there were no significant differences (p>0.025) in the trunk flexors’/extensors’ peak torque ratio between the pre-test and post-test conditions for either group. Moreover, there were no significant differences (p>0.025) in the trunk flexion/extension ratios between both groups at either condition. However, the 2x2 Mixed Design MANOVA revealed significant increases (p<0.025) in the trunk flexors’ and extensors’ peak torques in the post-test condition compared with the pre-test in group I with no significant differences (p>0.025) in group II. Moreover, there was a significant increase (p<0.025) in the trunk flexors’ peak torque only in group I compared with group II in the post-test condition with no significant differences in the other conditions. Interpretation/Conclusion: The improvement in muscle performance indicated by the increase in the trunk flexors’ and extensors’ peak torques in the experimental group recommends including core stability training in the exercise programs that aim to improve muscle performance.

Keywords: core stability, isokinetic, trunk muscles, muscle balance

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Authors: Amin Nazifi, Amir Raki, Doga Istanbulluoglu

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The incorporation of technological advancements into financial services, commonly referred to as Fintech, is primarily aimed at promoting services that are accessible, convenient, and inclusive, thereby benefiting both consumers and businesses. Fintech services employ a variety of technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), blockchain, and big data, to enhance the efficiency and productivity of traditional services. Cryptocurrency, a component of Fintech, is projected to be a trillion-dollar industry, with over 320 million consumers globally investing in various forms of cryptocurrencies. However, these potentially transformative services can also lead to adverse outcomes. For instance, recent Fintech innovations have been increasingly linked to misconduct and disservice, resulting in serious implications for consumer well-being. This could be attributed to the ease of access to Fintech, which enables adults to trade cryptocurrencies, shares, and stocks via mobile applications. However, there is little known about the darker aspects of technological advancements, such as Fintech. Hence, this study aims to generate scholarly insights into the design of robust and resilient Fintech services that can add value to businesses and enhance consumer well-being. Using a mixed-method approach, the study will investigate the personal and contextual factors influencing consumers’ adoption and usage of technology innovations and their impacts on consumer well-being. First, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with a sample of Fintech users until theoretical saturation is achieved. Subsequently, based on the findings of the first study, a quantitative study will be conducted to develop and empirically test the impacts of these factors on consumers’ well-being using an online survey with a sample of 300 participants experienced in using Fintech services. This study will contribute to the growing Transformative Service Research (TSR) literature by addressing the latest priorities in service research and shedding light on the impact of fintech services on consumer well-being.

Keywords: consumer well-being, financial literacy, Fintech, service innovation

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Authors: David Nogueiras Blanco, Amir Alwash, Arnaud Gaudinat, René Schneider

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At a time when the access to and the sharing of information are crucial in the world of research, the use of technologies such as persistent identifiers (PIDs), Current Research Information Systems (CRIS), and ontologies may create platforms for information sharing if they respond to the need of disambiguation of their data by assuring interoperability inside and between other systems. INCIPIT-CRIS is a continuation of the former INCIPIT project, whose goal was to set up an infrastructure for a low-cost attribution of PIDs with high granularity based on Archival Resource Keys (ARKs). INCIPIT-CRIS can be interpreted as a logical consequence and propose a research information management system developed from scratch. The system has been created on and around the Schema.org ontology with a further articulation of the use of ARKs. It is thus built upon the infrastructure previously implemented (i.e., INCIPIT) in order to enhance the persistence of URIs. As a consequence, INCIPIT-CRIS aims to be the hinge between previously separated aspects such as CRIS, ontologies and PIDs in order to produce a powerful system allowing the resolution of disambiguation problems using a combination of an ontology such as Schema.org and unique persistent identifiers such as ARK, allowing the sharing of information through a dedicated platform, but also the interoperability of the system by representing the entirety of the data as RDF triplets. This paper aims to present the implemented solution as well as its simulation in real life. We will describe the underlying ideas and inspirations while going through the logic and the different functionalities implemented and their links with ARKs and Schema.org. Finally, we will discuss the tests performed with our project partner, the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), by the use of large and real-world data sets.

Keywords: current research information systems, linked data, ontologies, persistent identifier, schema.org, semantic web

Procedia PDF Downloads 136